Tabulator mechanism for teleprinters



Oct. 11, 1960 G. GRIMSEN ETAL 7 2,956,120

TABULATOR MECHANISM FOR TELEPRINTERS Filed Aug. 14, 1957 3 Sheets-Shet 1 IN V EN TORS. GEE/MRO aemsew y Jd/lA/V/V Ma/smv Yaw/MW AGENT Oct. 11, 1960 e. GRIMSEN ETAL TABULATOR MECHANISM FOR TELEPRINTERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 14, 1957 IN V EN TORS. GEEHA ED GE/MSE/V By JO/lA/V/V 140605 TIN AGENT Oct. 11, 1960 G. GRIMSEN ETAL TABULATOR MECHANISM FOR TELEPRINTERS s Sheets-Sheet :5

Filed Aug. 14, 1957;

INVENTORS. 6E Ell/1RD GR/MSE/V VOHANN AUGUST/IV AGENT United States Patentt) TABULATOR MECHANISM FOR TELEPRINTERS Gerhard Grimsen, 'Esslingen, Neckar, and Johann Augustin, Pforzheim, Germany, assignors to International Standard Electric Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 14, 1957, Ser. No. 678,202

Claims priority, application Germany Aug. 22, 1956 '6 Claims. (Cl. 178-25) This invention relates to tabulator mechanism for teleprinters.

In typewriters a convenient facility is to provide a tabulator arrangement permitting, without having to pay any special attention, the carriage to be moved into one or more unchanged positions, i.e. margin stop positions.

In this way it is possible to indent the main and subparagraphs of letters or the like. I

In the application of this facility to teleprinters it is necessary. to use different means, for it is insufiicient to merely stop or arrest the transmitting teleprinter at a certainpart of the line, because the receiving teleprinter has always to be in the same corresponding position as the transmitting teleprinter. The invention, therefore, proposes an arrangement which operates in connection with the well-known repeater key and which, by a simple actuation of this key, permits both apparatus to be brought into the same position as desired, without a verbal agreement having to be reached bet-ween or by the two teleprinting operators. In parallel with the moving printing device or with the moving platen, there are arranged on a rocker one or more cams which are displaceable in an axial direction and which, in predetermined positions, come into contact with an actuator mounted either on the moving printing device or the moving platen respectively. As soon as the actuator, which is mountedon the respective moving element, comes into engagement touch with one of the cams mounted on the rocker, this rocker is actuated and, either electrically or purely mechanically, causes the repeater key to be rendered ineffective.

The mode of operation of the arrangement is as follows: If, from the initial line position on, the two interconnected teleprinter sets are supposed to be brought to a predetermined line position then at first, and similar as with the typewriter, one of the cams arranged on the rocker bar of the transmitting teleprinter, is shifted into the corresponding position, and set or arrested in this position. Now, upon actuating the repeater key, after having actuated the space bar prior thereto, the platen or carriage of the transmitting teleprinter will continue to step on until the actuator, mounted on the moving member, will. come into engagement with the set cam on the rocker bar. In this way the repeater key is rendered ineffective and the further transmission of telegraph signals is suppressed, even in case the repeater key remains depressed. Now both teleprinter sets are in the same position. Thereupon one may start to print the text, which is possible without any further ado, because the aforementioned tabulator arrangement can only be effective after actuation of the repeater key.

If so desired, also a plurality of cams may be arranged on the rocker lying parallel to the moving element. These cams may then be shifted into the desired positions, where they may be set or arrested. In this way it is rendered possible to make any number of oil-set sec- Patented Oct. 11, 1960 nism of Fig. 1.

Referring first to Fig. 1, in parallel relation to the guide track of the moving printing device, e.g. type bar carriage 24'of a teleprinter, there is arranged a rocker 1 which is rotatable about the bearings 22 and further comprises a rod 21 (see Fig. 1a) with one or more displaceable cams 25 on runners 2 which, with the aid of screws 23, may be tightened against the rod 21, or may be retained in predetermined positions on this rod by means of resilient or spring-mounted members in association with kerfs, or notches, etc., on the rod.

If the striking of the space bar SB is followed by the depression of the repeater key It}, the releasing pawl 8 is turned clockwise (Fig; 3) in the direction of the arrow under the tension of the spring'9, and the trip-01f pawl 19 releases the clutch throw-out lever 26. Thepdriving and driven members of the clutch 27 are thereby engaged so that provided the key 10 is held depressed there is continuously transmitted a space signal in the usual manner. The left hand clutch member of the clutch 27 is normally held inunclutched relation to the right hand clutch member by the clutch control or throw-out lever 26. Lever 26 is normally held in the position shown in the drawing to effect declutching, by engagement with a shoulder on the pawl 19. Pawl 19 is arranged to be swung to the right by engagement with the releasing pawl 8. Pawl 8 is operated by the repeater key 10. However, it can be returned to its normal position even if the key 10 is held depressed. The latter action is controlled by the armature 7 of magnet 6 which is normally deenergized but which becomes energized at the tabulating stop points to be described hereinbelow. This action in controlling the clutch lever 26 by the pawl 1'9 for the tabulating operation is independent of the normal clutch control for other than tabulating purposes. These latter actions are controlled by the lever 28. The lever 28 is shown in its normal position in which it remains during the tabulating operation. In the drawing the relative directions of the various parts in response to a downward depression of the repeater key 10' are indicated by the respective arrows adjacent the parts. The control of the clutch throw-out lever 26 by the intermediate lever 28, the trip-off pawl 19 and the resetting lever is wellknown and will not be further described.

According to one embodiment of the invention the releasing pawl 8 is formed with an extension 7 which constitutes the armature of an electromagnet 6. When an actuator member 11 on the type bar carriage 24 engages a displaced cam 25 on a rod 21, the rocker is rotated clockwise and its rear extension 3 closes a pair of contacts 4 to complete. an energizing circuit for the magnet 6 through the battery'S. The magnet 6 attracts its armature 7 and thereby the releasing pawl 8 is moved to its normal position and the clutch throw-out lever 26 is enabled to decouple the clutch 27 in the usual manner. The continuous transmission of the space signal is thus arrested, although the repeater key 10 may be held depressed. In the latter event the tension of the spring 9 is somewhat increased but the attraction'of the armature 7 is suflicient to overcome such tension.

As soon as the repeater key is released the ordinary continued text may be transmitted and printed. When the first type character is keyed the cam 25 will sl1de ,beneath the actuator 11 on the type-bar carriage 24 and the extension 3 on the rocker 1 will open the contacts 4. The magnet 6 is thus deenergized and the mechanism is restored to its normal condition. Thereafter if the repeater key 10 is again actuated following the striking of the space bar SB, space signals will again be continuously sent until the next cam 2 is engaged by the actuator member 11. It will be seen, therefore, that the transmitting and receiving teleprinters will both assume the same position, thus permitting the tabulating function in a very simple manner.

As a further example of embodiment of the idea of invention there will now be described a purely mechanically operating arrangement with reference to Figs. 2

and 2a: On the rocker 1, which again is provided with one or more cams 2, there is mounted at a suitable place an arm or extension 3 which via a pull rod 12, acts upon an intermediate lever 13 pivoted to the releasing pawl 8. By means of a projection or extension 18 on the pull rod 12, this lever 13 moves the releasing pawl 8 into its normal position to stop the transmission of space signals in the same manner as does the armature 7 of magnet 6 in Fig. 1. As in the modification of Fig. l the repeater key- 10 may be held depressed without the functioning being disturbed thereby. In such a case the spring 9 is merely tensioned. To render the aforementioned operation ineffective, there is provided a suitably shaped lever 15, a pin 16 on which engages a slot 17 in the pull rod 12. This lever may be brought into either of two positions, i.e. into the position On or Off. 'In the On position the projection 18 comes into contact with the left-hand end of the lever 13, so that the arrangement is rendered effective, that is, switched-on. In the OE position, however, the pull rod '12 will be swivelled and thus disengaged from the lever 13. In this case, accordingly, the arrangement is rendered ineffective. In order to provide a switching-on and -of1 of the tabulator arrangement also in the electrically operated embodiment of Fig. 1, it is only necessary to insert a switch 20 in the circuit of magnet 6.

While I have described above the principles of my invention in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a page printing teleprinter apparatus a moving type-bar carriage, a repeater key, code plus transmission members, separable clutch members arranged to be mechanically clutched and declutched to control the operation of said transmission members clutch control means, a release pawl mechanically linked with said clutch throw out means and controlled by said repeater key for operating said clutch control means to cause said code transmission members to be moved for pulse transmission and thereby initiating the continuous transmission of space signals, a rocker bar mounted to extend parallel to the direction of movement of said carriage, a cam and means for rigidly securing it to said rocker bar, an actuating member mounted on said carriage and movable therewith into engagement with said cam to cause rotation of said rocker bar, and means controlled by said rocker bar for actuating said release pawl to operate said separable clutch members to declutching relation and thereby to arrest the transmission of space signals.

2. Teleprinter apparatus according to claim 1, wherein means is provided for rendering said last-mentioned means ineffective, said means comprising two-position switch means effective in one position to render said rocker bar ineffective to arrest the said transmission and effective in another position to render said rocker bar efiective to cause said transmission.

3.'In a page printing teleprinter apparatus a moving type-bar carriage, a repeater key, code pulse transmission members, separable clutch members arranged to be mechanically clutched and declutched to control the operation of said transmission members clutch control means, a release pawl mechanically linked with said clutch throw out means and controlled by said repeater key for operating said clutch control means to cause said codetransmission members to be moved for pulse transmission and thereby initiating the continuous transmission of space signals, a rocker bar mounted to extend parallel to the direction of movement of said carriage, a cam and means for rigidly securing it to said rocker bar, an actuating member mounted on said carriage and movable therewith into engagement with said cam to cause rotation of said rocker bar, an electromagnet having an armature mechanically linked with said release pawl, and contact means controlled by said rocker bar for energizing said magnet for actuating said release pawl to operate said separable clutch members to declutching relation and thereby to arrest the transmission of space signals.

4. Teleprinter apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising manually operable switch means connected in the circuit of said magnet.

5. In a page printing teleprinter apparatus, a moving type-bar carriage, a repeater key code pulse transmission members, separate clutch members arranged to be mechanically clutched and declutched to control the operation of said transmission members, clutch throw out means, a release pawl mechanically linked with said clutch throw out means and controlled by said repeater key for operating said clutch control means to cause said code transmission members to be moved for pulse transmission and thereby initiating the continuous transmission of space signals, a rocker bar mounted to extend parallel to the direction of movement of said carriage, a cam and means for rigidly securing it to said rocker bar, an actuating member mounted on said carriage and movable therewith into engagement with said cam to cause rotation of said rocker bar, a pull rod pivoted to said rocker bar and a lever connected to said release pawl and cooperating with said pull rod whereby upon the actuation of said pull rod by said rocker bar said release pawl operates said separable clutch members into declutch relation and thereby arrests the transmission of space signals.

6. Teleprinter apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising means for disassociating said pull rod from said release pawl.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,111,387 Burchy Mar. 15, 1938 2,216,337 Burchy Oct. 1, 1940 2,250,717 Long et al July 29, 1941 

